Method for operating and device for monitoring a technical installation

ABSTRACT

A technical installation contains several systems for resolving different system management tasks. Information variables are hierarchically arranged in the systems. A value of an information variable pertaining to the lowest hierarchical level triggers an event and pertains to a significant range of values. The value and the appurtenant location are found by specifically tracking all systems.

This application is the national phase under 35 U.S.C. §371 of PCTInternational Application No. PCT/DE01/00416 which has an Internationalfiling date of Feb. 2, 2001, which designated the United States ofAmerica and which claims priority on German Patent Application No. 10008 812.0 filed Feb. 25, 2000, the entire contents of which are herebyincorporated herein by reference.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The invention generally relates to a method for operating a technicalinstallation. The technical installation preferably includes a number ofsystems for performing different system management tasks. The inventionalso generally relates to a device for monitoring a technicalinstallation of this type.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

In modern complex technical installations, a control system whichregisters the states of all the parts of the installation at each pointin time during operation and makes all the information necessary foroperating the technical installation available to the operatingpersonnel is used for controlling production. It is also possible to useprotection systems, which in hazardous situations quickly and reliablyshut down all the respectively affected sections of the installation orcomponents—independently of other systems—to avert damage to materialand personnel. It is additionally possible to use a system formaintaining operation, in which all the data necessary for advanceplanning of the operation of the technical installation are managed,such as for example servicing plans, keeping of spare parts, orderingprocedures, etc. The business management aspects of a technicalinstallation can also be handled in a separate system. There, thedetailed production costs can be calculated for example, these costsarising as a result of boundary conditions such as costs of rawmaterials, personnel, transport and machine running times, andcalculations for cost optimization may also be carried out, for example.The systems of the technical installation that have been mentioned areto be understood as given by way of example, and it is also possible touse a series of further systems, or else fewer individual systems.

It is customary to divide the tasks of a technical installation among anumber of specialized systems in this way. However, this involves thedifficulty of tracing the underlying cause of an event reported by oneof the system, since the information on the operating state of thetechnical installation is distributed among a number of systems and itis generally necessary to change between a number of systems in orderfor example to trace the message of a fault back to its underlyingtriggering causes.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

An embodiment of the invention is based on an object of specifying amethod for operating a technical installation with a number of systemsfor performing different system management tasks, with the aid of whichthe information distributed among the various systems can be broughttogether in a context-dependent manner.

According to an embodiment of the invention, the method comprises thefollowing steps:

-   -   1. The tasks relevant for the technical installation are        predefined.    -   2. For processing different values of information to be        registered by the systems to perform their tasks, information        variables are predefined.    -   3. The information variables are assigned in advance a number of        hierarchies of derived information variables, an information        variable of a higher level being formed from at least one        information variable of the next-lower level and the        relationship between the information variables of the various        hierarchical levels being documented.    -   4. The information variables and the derived information        variables are assigned the locations at which their values to be        processed during later operation arose and the representations        of said locations in the systems.    -   5. A significant range of values is fixed for each information        variable and derived information variable.    -   6. During operation, the systems make available the current or        archived values of the information variables and derived        information variables used for performing their tasks.    -   7. If a value of the information variable or derived information        variable made available falls within the significant range of        values, the information variable or derived information variable        is marked.    -   8. The tasks dependent on marked information variables or        derived information variables are marked.    -   9. The at least one value of an information variable of the        lowest hierarchical level that is causally responsible for the        occurrence of a value of an information variable or derived        information variable falling within a significant range of        values, and the location or locations where said causal value        arose, are specifically identified by tracing back in a        hierarchically descending step-by-step progression from the at        least one marked task via the marked derived information        variables to the at least one marked information variable of the        lowest hierarchical level.

During the operation of the technical installation, items of informationwhich are registered and processed by the respective specialized systemaccording to the task to be performed arise at the various locations.If, for example, a part of the installation or a component has acritical state during operation, this information is registered in theassociated specialized system. This message, and possibly further itemsof information, are generally used to form higher-level messages, knownas collective messages, in a number of steps and is passed on to othersystems. For example, a collective message that a system section is notavailable is passed on by a servicing system to the control system, butit is normally not possible from the viewpoint of the control system toascertain in detail from this passed-on information which component ofthe system section affected led to the non-availability of the systemsection. For example, ongoing servicing work on a component of a systemsection could lead to its non-availability; the said servicing work ismanaged in a system for maintaining operation, which merely passes on tothe control system the collective message concerning thenon-availability of the system section affected.

When the aforementioned collective message occurs in the control system,the operating personnel of the technical installation would then have tochange to the system for maintaining operation to find out the actualcause of the non-availability—that is the ongoing servicing work on aspecific component; in this case it is sometimes necessary also tochange between a number of systems. What is more, the relationshipbetween the items of information generated in the various systems oftencannot be traced back unequivocally and straight away; a certain degreeof intuition on the part of the operating personnel is therefore oftenessential.

The method of the type according to an embodiment of the inventionallows the cause of a reported event to be specifically traced, withouthaving to change between the systems to do so. The method can beimplemented for example in a separate system. If the method is appliedto the archived information of the systems, a fault analysis lookingback in the past until it finds the causally triggering cause ispossible. Such knowledge of relationships pertaining to faults of thepast can be profitably used for the present and future operation of thetechnical installation.

In an advantageous refinement of the invention, the locations at whichthe values to be processed during operation arose are linked withadditional information, which during the tracing-back from the at leastone marked task via the marked derived information variables to the atleast one marked information variable of the lowest hierarchical levelcan be specifically called up.

This additional information may be, for example, manuals, operatinginstructions, workshop plans, circuit manuals, printouts of computerprograms, etc. In particular in the case of malfunctions, such availableadditional information can contribute to eliminating the cause of themalfunction more quickly.

An embodiment of the invention therefore leads to a device formonitoring a technical installation. In this device, each system isimplemented in a corresponding computing stage, and the monitoring takesplace through a corresponding data exchange between the systemsthemselves and a monitoring stage with a display of the identifiedinformation variables and locations where they arose. The function ofthe monitoring stage and the display may already be integrated in one ofthe computing stages; in this case, it is possible to dispense with adedicated monitoring stage.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The drawing illustrates an exemplary embodiment of the invention.Represented in this example are a number of systems for performing thevarious system management tasks of a technical installation, which arerespectively installed in a computer of their own, and also a furthersystem in a separate computer for carrying out the method according tothe invention. The dividing up of the systems and their hardwareimplementation may, however, also be performed in a different way.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

A system 1 contains a number of hierarchies 15, 17 and 19 of informationvariables, in which the information variables of the lowest hierarchicallevel are provided with current values 9 during the operation of thetechnical installation. These are used to form derived informationvalues of a higher hierarchical level—known as collective messages.These may also be formed by including information values or derivedinformation values of other systems. A marking M1 is then set if, withinthe system 1, at least one value of an information variable or derivedinformation variable falls within a fixed significant range of values.The marking M1 thus indicates that within the system 1 there is at leasta noteworthy state of a part of the installation or a component.

A system 2 likewise serves for performing another specific task of thesystem management of the technical installation. Like the system 1, itis similarly supplied with current values 11 of the technicalinstallation which are necessary for performing this task. The formingof a number of hierarchies 21 of information variables takes place inthis case in a way corresponding to that in the case of system 1. Amarking M2 is set for the system 2 if at least one value of aninformation variable or derived information variable falls within thesignificant range of values, that is to say there is at least onenoteworthy state of a system section of the system 2 or a component.

The system n is likewise a further system for performing a specificsystem management task of the technical installation. Like the othersystems, it is correspondingly supplied with current values 13 from thetechnical installation. As in the case of the other systems, a number ofhierarchies of information variables are similarly formed in the systemn. The marking Mn indicates for the system n whether at least onecurrent value of an information variable or derived information variablefalls within the significant range of values, that is to say whetherthere is at least one noteworthy state of a system section of the systemn or a component.

A further system 5 serves for carrying out the method according to theinvention. The connection 7 describes a bidirectional communication linkbetween the terminals 8 of the systems 1 to n and of the further system5. The systems 1 to n pass on to the further system 5 referencesappertaining to the information variables IV marked in them or derivedinformation variables I{tilde over (V)}, I V and IV′ and also the statusof their respective marking M1 to Mn. Linking items of information inthis way by means of references is known and is referred to as indirectaddressing. In this example, this does not involve items of informationbeing passed on from a first system to a second system in the form ofcopies, but rather it is sufficient for the first system to notify thesecond system at which place in the first system the information islocated. This avoids redundant or multiply redundant replication of theinformation base.

With knowledge of the places at which the systems 1 to n have storedtheir marked information variables or derived information variables withthe current values, and with knowledge of the states of the markings M1to Mn, the system 5 can carry out a specific search for the originalcause of an event with the aid of the documented relationships betweenthe information variables and derived information variables. In thissearch, the operator of the system 5 is guided step by step from atleast one of the set markings M1 or M2 via the marked derivedinformation variables IV′, I V and I{tilde over (V)} to the markedinformation variables IV of the lowest hierarchical level. The value ofthe marked information variable IV of the lowest hierarchical levelcausally forms the value of the derived marked information variableI{tilde over (V)} whose value causes the value of the derived markedinformation variable I V which forms the value of the derived markedinformation variable IV′. The markings M1 and M2 of the systems 1 and 2,respectively, are set because in both systems there is at least onemarked information variable or derived information variable.

Particularly in relatively complex technical installations, the use ofthe method according to the invention can lead to a significantlyaccelerated search for the cause of a malfunction. Consequently, hazardscan be eliminated more quickly and downtimes can be reduced.

The marked information variable IV is assigned a location 30 at whichthe cause of the malfunction is located; here in the example it is adefective pump 32. The location 30 is linked with additional information35, comprising operating instructions 37 and circuit manuals 39, the useof which helps to eliminate the malfunction quickly.

The invention being thus described, it will be obvious that the same maybe varied in many ways. Such variations are not to be regarded as adeparture from the spirit and scope of the invention, and all suchmodifications as would be obvious to one skilled in the art are intendedto be included within the scope of the following claims.

1. A method for operating a technical installation including a pluralityof systems for performing different system management tasks, comprisingthe following steps: a) defining the tasks relevant to performingoperations of the technical installation; b) defining informationvariables for processing different values of information to beregistered by the systems performing the tasks; b1) deriving informationvariables from the defined information variables; c) assigning thedefined information variables and the derived information variables to anumber of hierarchical levels, a defined information variable or derivedinformation variable of a higher hierarchical level being formed from atleast one defined information variable or derived information variableof the next-lower hierarchical level; c1) storing in at least onecomputer a relationship between the defined information variables andthe derived information variables; d) assigning the defined informationvariables and the derived information variables location information toindicate a physical location within the technical installation, thedefined information variables and the derived information variablesrelate to at least one of an operation performed at the physicallocation of the technical installation and a component located at thephysical location of the technical installation; e) determining a rangeof values for each of the defined information variables and the derivedinformation variables; f) during operation, having the systems makeavailable at least one of current and archived values of the definedinformation variables and the derived information variables used forperforming the tasks to a control system of the technical installation;g) marking the defined information variables when values of the definedinformation variables are within the range of determined values for thedefined information variables; g1) marking the derived informationvariables when values of the derived information variables are withinthe range of determined values for the derived information variables; h)marking at least one of the tasks correlated with at least one of thesystems using the at least one computer when at least one of the definedinformation variables and the derived information variables associatedwith the at least one of the tasks are marked; i) specificallyidentifying at least one value of one of the defined informationvariables of a lowest hierarchical level, that is causally responsiblefor an occurrence of a value of at least one of the defined informationvariables or the derived information variables being within thedetermined ranges of values for the corresponding defined informationvariables or the corresponding derived information variables; j)determining the physical location within the technical installationbased on the location information assigned to the one of the definedinformation variables of the lowest hierarchical level; and k) tracingback in a hierarchically descending step-by-step progression from the atleast one marked task via the marked derived information variables tothe one of the defined information variable of the lowest hierarchicallevel using the stored relationship between the one of the definedinformation variables of the lowest hierarchical level and the derivedinformation variables.
 2. The method as claimed in claim 1, furthercomprising: retrieving additional information for the one of the definedinformation variable of the lowest hierarchical level, the additionalinformation including at least one of operating instructions and circuitmanuals associated with an operation performed at or component of thephysical location to which the at least one marked defined informationvariable of the lowest hierarchical level is assigned.
 3. The method ofclaim 1, wherein derived information variables of a higher hierarchicallevel are collective messages.
 4. The method of claim 3, whereincollective messages are also be formed by including a definedinformation variable or derived information variables of other systems.5. A device for monitoring a technical installation including a numberof systems for performing different system management tasks, comprising:a computing stage, assigned to at least one computer for each system,for performing the tasks defined relevant to performing operations ofthe technical installation; and a monitoring stage specificallyidentifying at least one value of a defined or derived informationvariable of a lowest hierarchical level that is causally responsible foran occurrence of a value of a defined information variable or derivedinformation variable being within a range of values, and at least onephysical location of the technical installation where said causal valuearose, wherein the computing stages assign hierarchical levels to thedefined information variables and the derived information variables, adefined information variable or derived information variable of a higherhierarchical level being formed from at least one defined informationvariable or derived information variable of the next-lower hierarchicallevel, storing the relationship between the defined and derivedinformation variables of the various hierarchical levels, assign thedefined information variables and the derived information variableslocation information to indicate the physical location within thetechnical installation, the defined information variables and thederived information variables relate to at least one of an operationperformed at the physical location of the technical installation and acomponent located at the physical location of the technical installationcorresponding to the assigned location information, determine the rangeof values for each of the defined information variables and derivedinformation variables, receive at least one of current and archivedvalues of the defined information variables or derived informationvariables, mark the defined information variables when values of thedefined information variables are within the determined range of valuesfor the defined information variables, mark the derived informationvariables when a value of the derived information variables is withinthe determined range of values for the derived information variables,mark at least one of the tasks correlated with at least one of thesystems using the at least one computer [when at least one of thedefined information variables or derived information variablesassociated with the at least one of the tasks are marked, and whereinthe monitoring stage traces back in a hierarchically descendingstep-by-step progression from the at least one marked task to the markedderived information variables to the at least one marked definedinformation variable of the lowest hierarchical level to specificallyidentify at least one value of a defined information variable of alowest hierarchical level that is causally responsible for theoccurrence of the value of the defined information variable or thederived information variable being within the determined range ofvalues, and the at least one location where said causal value arose. 6.The device of claim 5, wherein the derived information variables of ahigher hierarchical level are collective messages.
 7. The device ofclaim 6, wherein collective messages are also be formed by includingdefined information variables or derived information variables of othersystems.